Results 27,661-27,680 of 35,959 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, but the Minister of State is actually saying to us that we should go through each and every Act. He knows well that there will be no legislation presented to this House on Bord na Móna, EirGrid or any other body for many months.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Of course there were debates but we want to include in legislation a provision that would stipulate that, if the Government decides to sell off an interest in a State body, there would be, at a minimum, a debate in this House. The Minister of State rightly pointed out that if Uisce Éireann were under discussion, there would be a debate anyway by default because of the way it has been...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: However, with other State bodies there is no automatic guarantee in this regard. There may or may not be a debate. The Minister of State is suggesting that we return to each Act and do what applies in respect of Uisce Éireann, that is, include a provision stipulating that if the relevant State asset or part thereof is to be sold, there will need to be a debate. I am saying that does...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Yes.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I am.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Without going over old ground, the Minister of State said that he cannot imagine any circumstances when such issues would not be discussed in this House. I accept that is what the Minister of State genuinely believes. I would never have imagined any circumstances in which we would issue €31 billion of promissory notes without debate in this House but that happened. That is the point...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I am looking at what is set out in black and white in the legislation. There is no requirement in the legislation for a register of declared interests to be maintained by the agency. If there is such a provision in the legislation, the Minister of State might outline the subsection that provides for it, outside of the minutes.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. It is a private register of declared interests - a private, secret document that is being maintained by the agency. It is clearly written in the legislation that where there is a declaration in relation to a disclosure of certain interests by members of staff - there is process in terms of who adjudicates on that, for example, the chairman - and if the chairman believes they may have...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State is not allowed to respond.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 6:In page 26, to delete lines 21 to 26.I will deal first with amendment No. 7 which is a compromise amendment and was tabled with gritted teeth in the realisation that the Government will not delete lines 21 to 26 on page 26 of the Bill. This amendment provides that if the Government decided it wanted to enlist the project management services of the agency in terms of...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 5:In page 22, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following:"(9) The Agency shall maintain a register of declared interests of all members of the Agency which will be publicly available including on the Agency's website.".I will not go over this ground again. I have refined the amendment which referred to members of the agency only, not all staff. There should be a...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: I am disappointed. The question of a register of declared interests should not just be addressed in this legislation but also become the subject of a wider debate, including on our roles. Deputies declare assets but not debts. In the past two years the media have been able to uncover that a number of Ministers have debts with financial institutions. Questions were raised about the...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: We had a lengthy discussion on this on Committee Stage, during which I tabled an amendment to delete the relevant provisions. I have refined my amendment so as to seek the deletion of one provision - namely, the one Deputy Joe Higgins has focused on. I refer to the all-encompassing provision that would allow the chairperson and chief executive to refuse to appear before a committee because...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: Until that point it was illegal to use the proceeds of the National Pensions Reserve Fund to invest in banks. When the Government decided to use that money to recapitalise the banks, it had to change the legislation to allow it to happen.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: My understanding is that there are no time restrictions on the right to reply.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: That is on the second contribution, but there are no time restrictions on the third.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: It seems there are no rules governing this one.

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister of State maintains that the Government is simply carrying over provisions that already exist in respect of section 42, whereby the Government can raid the National Pensions Reserve Fund. In fairness, it has been this Government more than the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government that has raided the fund. Perhaps the writing was on the wall, but the current Government was in...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: If the Government intends to keep the provision, it should at least allow the Houses of the Oireachtas to debate it. The Minister of State has said, rightly, that we might never have to use it, but what if the day comes when the Minister decides to put €6 billion into a failed credit institution? At that point those in opposition and outside the Government will have no recourse to...

National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Pearse Doherty: That is where this Government is failing deeply in respect of transparency and accountability.